About 62,000 people joined the live Supreme Court blog online today as the eagerly awaited decision in the case Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. Inclusive Communities Project, Inc. was announced.

“The Court acknowledges the Fair Housing Act’s continuing role in moving the Nation toward a more integrated society,” wrote Justice Kennedy in the majority opinion.

The question initially facing the court was centered on “where housing for low-income persons should be constructed in Dallas, Texas,” the choice being between the inner city or the suburbs. Developers receive tax credits to build low-income housing, and the credits are distributed by state agencies. In the State of Texas, the credits are distributed by the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs.

With this evidence, the District Court determined that the tax-credit granting department for low-income housing in Texas needed to rebut the evidence presented by the non-profit organization, and found that department unable to do so. The court subsequently ordered that the housing department remedy the situation.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, located in New Orleans, determined that disparate-impact claims could be recognized under the Fair Housing Act, but the burden that the District Court placed on the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs to find an alternative for less discriminatory practices of housing was improper. The Supreme Court affirmed this ruling Thursday.